The family of Mathios Arkangelo, the 28-year-old man killed by Edmonton police on this past June, has launched an over 1-million-dollar lawsuit against Edmonton Police Service (EPS) Chief Dale McFee, the officer who shot Arkangelo, and the three officers who immediately responded when he was shot.
The lawsuit claims McFee contributed to Arkangelo’s death by failing to provide proper training to the officers involved.
“We just want justice, and we want to hold everybody accountable, and we want the whole system to change,” said Dini Arkangelo, Mathios’ sister, who held a public protest outside of the EPS northeast branch Saturday.
“We don’t want any other family to go through, because it’s terrible. Having to bury your younger brother like that.”
Arkangelo was shot and killed by Edmonton Police on June 29 when officers responded to a call in the Fraser neighbourhood of a suspected impaired driver rolling their car near Anthony Henday Drive and 153 Avenue.
Police claim the driver of the vehicle fled the scene on foot before the confrontation took place.
The family released a 25-minute video compiled from area doorbell and security cameras to give the public a look at the incident and minutes leading up to Arkangelo’s death.
The video shows Arkangelo some distance away from the police officer with his hands in the air at the time of the shooting.
Arkangelo’s family says they have not spoken directly to police since the incident and are awaiting an autopsy report.
“We have so many questions and no answers,” she added. “So we’re hoping by pressing this lawsuit, by launching this lawsuit, that we’ll get more answers.”
The Arkangelo family plans to continue calling for justice by assembling protests similar to Saturday afternoon’s.
“If we stop for a day, this whole thing will be brushed under the rug, and people will just move on with their lives, and stuff like this will just keep happening,” Arkangelo said.
When asked about the lawsuit, EPS said in a statement to CityNews they are aware of the statement of claim and are reviewing it.
The officer who fired the shot that killed Arkangelo was initially suspended from duties, but has since returned to work.
Alberta’s police watchdog, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT), continues to investigate.